BRAIN
FUNCTIONING IN REVERSE
I received this very interesting
article from the Fibrohugs.com newsletter "Tenderpoints." You can check
out the entire Fibrohugs website at www.fibrohugs.com. This article was
very interesting to me because in 1982 when I was diagnosed with FMS, I was
typing words backwards at times as a legal secretary! (I always
corrected them...) I also had some of the cognitive problems
described in this article. My fibromyalgia story is at www.fms-help.com/fibro.htm. - Dominie
Medical Breakthrough -- Therapy for
Fibromyalgia
Fibromyalgia is a frustrating condition for both
doctors and patients.
It's difficult to diagnose and treat.
But a
new therapy helps patients regain some function by targeting their
brains.
It was the simple tasks, like balancing a checkbook, that
confused Melissa Noll the most a while back.
"I thought I might have
early stages of Alzheimer's," says Melissa.
But Melissa's memory problems
were a symptom of something else -- Fibromyalgia -- a chronic condition that
causes pain and fatigue.
"I've lived in this area 15 years and I couldn't
find my way to the bank," she says.
This therapy helped Melissa find her
way. It's called neurocognitive biofeedback. Dr. Myra Preston uses it on
patients with Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.
"What we found was rather fascinating. In fact, we discovered that
it's as if their brains are functioning in reverse," says Dr.
Preston.
Neurofeedback corrects the brain's electrical functions by
altering brainwaves. Patients are hooked up to electrodes that actually monitor
the brainwaves. When they concentrate and focus, the waves function normally and
video-game like displays deliver "rewards" in the form of sight and
sound.
"We truly are rewarding the brain," says Dr. Preston.
It's
a promising treatment, in one study, patients had more than a 60-percent
improvement in memory.
"When we begin correcting the function of the
brain, we begin to have an effect over all of the body systems," says Dr.
Preston.
Dr. Preston also developed a technique called brain mapping to
determine which patients are candidates for neurofeedback.
"Did I look
slower today?" Melissa asks the doctor.
It helped diagnose Melissa's
condition and neurofeedback helped treat it.
"It's like I'm getting my
old self back," she says.
With a little help from her
brain.
Neurocognitive biofeedback is also being used for patients with
other conditions like ADHD, autism, stroke and Alzheimer's.
The cost is
about 140-dollars for an hour session and is sometimes covered by
insurance.
Patients have between 30 and 40 sessions.
Dr. Preston
works out of Siber Imaging in North Carolina, which can be reached at http://www.siberimaging.com.
DOMINIE'S FIBROMYALGIA & CHRONIC
FATIGUE SYNDROME HOMEPAGE
DISCLAIMER: I am not a medical doctor. I
am a fibromyalgia / chronic fatigue syndrome survivor. The purpose of this website
is not to diagnose or cure any disease or malady, but is presented as food for
thought. This information cannot take the place of professional medical
advice. Any attempt to diagnose and treat an illness should come under the
direction of a physician. No guarantees are made regarding any of the
information in this website.